london1967: (knocker)
When I look at the pictures taken during the last few weeks, I see a lot of food. But I'm positive we did so much more than just stuffing our faces!

The last Friday in April we went to Roberta and Gianfranco's for dinner. Roberta is Adrian's Italian teacher, but needless to say we didn't speak much italiano!
I got there straight from work and when I took my coat off we all laughed because both Adrian and myself were wearing the same M&S shirt (I had bought mine first, but as Adrian really liked I bought him one too). The children were rather amused by our 'uniform'!

On the Sunday, we went to evensong at Southwark Cathedral.
The service was rather long (and at one point I nodded off slightly); when the service was over we gathered outside to witness the internment of the ashes of our neighbour Jo. Both Adrian and I thought that the place was anything but peaceful with the constant din from the trains passing on the nearby viaduct, the noise and the smell from the adjacent Borough Market, and the people eating on the benches but it probably suited our late neighbour.

May started with a book launch. Bobby, a neighbour of ours, launched his book "Seeing Sodomy in the Middle Ages" at the "Gay's the Word" bookshop. It was packed.
Before the launch Adrian and I had dinner at a nearby Strada:

P1020901

Then we had the 'excitement' of the general election (LOL!) and the first get-together for the Residents' Association's Panto (I decided to write another one: "Cyril the Squirrel and the Magic Nut").

The following week was very busy:
- Paul, an old friend of Adrian's, coming for the afternoon and then dinner on the Tuesday
- dinner and theatre on the Thursday
- exhibition at the National Gallery on the Friday
- gardening all week-end (lifting the bulbs and planting dahlias, lilies and a number of seedlings)

We went to see "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown - The Musical" which was excellent and very funny:

P1020920

We had a pre-theatre set dinner (tapas serves à la afternoon tea) at Salvador and Amanda's in Covent Garden:

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The exhibition we visited at the National Gallery was 'Inventing Impressionism': "the UK’s first major exhibition devoted to Paul Durand-Ruel, the entrepreneurial art dealer who discovered the Impressionists".
We both really enjoyed it.

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After the week-end of gardening, we went to the local garden centre/cafe' on the Sunday evening for a 'meet the neighbours' event. I baked some macarons to take round.

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Last week was somewhat quieter, although we both had dentist appointments and Adrian had to go for laser treatment on the eye which had undergone cataract surgery a few years ago. The treatment went well and now he can see clearly again!

It was also Eurovision week and our friend Richard arrived on the Friday to stay for a few days.
We also had the great pleasure of meeting Gregory ([livejournal.com profile] isledemoi) on the Saturday.
As Richard was visiting, we invited Gregory round for a cuppa on the Saturday afternoon, rather than suggesting meeting in town.
I'm afraid the 'spread' wasn't quite as abundant as on previous occasions (no scones!), but we had sarnies, a chocolate cake made with Old Speckled Hen (a 'fine ale'), lemon curd macarons and orange natas.
We were all in agreement that Gregory was a very charming guest!

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In the evening we watched Eurovision with Utku, a neighbour of ours. It was fun but we were disappointed that Sweden won (quite a boring song, in my modest opinion).

Sunday was spent finishing planting the dahlias, etc. and Monday (which was a Bank Holiday) was spent at home again for me (Adrian and Richard went shopping - when they got back they found some freshly baked scones waiting for them).
And now it's all back to normal, although tomorrow evening we have another meeting re the Panto (meeting the actors to discuss their involvement, so that I have an idea when writing it. This time we have 2 professionals in the cast - no pressure! LOL!) and on Friday we're invited at Mike and Alex's in Streatham for dinner.
london1967: (knocker)
I think it was the best Eurovision final ever!
The host Petra Mede - a Swedish comedian - was brilliant and funny; she even sang a very amusing "Swedish Smörgåsbord" in the interval which also featured two gentlemen kissing.



Another same sex kiss in the Finnish entry (apparently to protest against the parliament blocking same-sex marriage in Finland). Graham Norton - the UK commentator - said something along the lines of "You're going to see two women kissing at the end of this song. If that offends you, I suggest you grow up!"

There were also many great songs this year.

Here are a few I/we enjoyed.

The winning number from Denmark:


A simple but haunting song from The Netherlands:


The amazing vocal range of Cezar, representing Romania


The emotional performance of Italy's Marco Mengoni


Iceland's very own Jesus Christ Superstar


Greece's funny song performed by a few easy-on-the-eye men in kilt


Norway's cool performance


Two sweet songs: one from Hungary


and one from Malta (the official video)


Bonnie Tyler flying the flag for the UK


And to finish, one that unfortunately didn't make the final


Such fun!
london1967: (knocker)
It's that week of the year again when camp and music come together for 3 thrilling evenings! (if you like both of course)

On Monday evening when I was about to get home, I spotted a double rainbow.





a sign that the weather was celebrating Eurovision too, surely.

We watched the two semi-finals commented for the BBC by DJ Scott Mills and Scissor Sisters' Ana Matronic.
They were good fun. And there were a few men quite easy on the eye, I must say, which is always nice.

Camp fest!

May. 25th, 2012 10:40 am
london1967: (Default)
Forget about the silly Olympics, this is the year's most important event: the Eurovision Song Festival!

Adrian and I watched the 2 semi-finals on Tue and Thu nights, and are looking forward to the final tomorrow evening.

The camptastic semi-finals were made more even enjoyable by the two BBC commentators' naughty and funny comments. Last night they even played a game of "he's gay or European" (which is something that Adrian and I sometimes do too)
[Note: the concept of 'gay or European' works because people in Britain don't think of themselves as Europeans].

On Tue evening they interviewed the Italian singer, Nina Zilli and asked her whether she had a message for all the people watching the show in the gay bars. She replied that she's a gay icon in Italy and that she loves the gays.

Well Nina you got my vote. Not just for that, or because you're Italian, but because I love your song.


I don't know how well she'll do tomorrow night. And I have no idea who's going to win. Sweden? Russia?

A country that doesn't want to win is (apparently) Spain Don't win Eurovision, Spanish entrant told"
Pity as it is a great song. I may have to vote for Pastora as well.

It is was all down to the public vote, the UK's 12 points would go to Turkey and Italy would assign 12 points to Romania and 10 to Moldova, but of course now half the points come from juries. Which makes it a bit more unpredictable, and fun.
london1967: (Eurovision)
Nina Zilli will represent Italy at the 2012 Eurovision Song Festival with this song.
(I don't know whether the song will be in Italian or will be translated into English)



And the United Kingdom will be represented by Engelbert Humperdinck, who will be the oldest ever competitor at 75 years of age.

I wonder what he'll be singing - let's just hope that he won't try hip-hop!
london1967: (Default)
Another year, another small Eurovision party.

Some uninvited guests showed up at our modest abode



They were tired of all that sunshine in the Maldives and said that there is really a limit to how much peace and quiet one can take on an quasi-desert island.

We said come on in, we have some food



and a room full of loyal subjects



and, if you don't mind a tight squeeze, you might even be able to watch the telly



Thanks to Bulgaria and Italy the UK was briefly in the lead (here's the lovely Raffaella - a national treasure in Italy, announcing 10 points to "Blue")



but things went downhill from there.  Off with their heads they said!

[But I'm not disappointed as Italy did very well ending up in second place; there was some very nice eye-candy - Spain got one of my votes thanks also to the dancers, and Jedward didn't win so President Obama's eardrums will be spared on his upcoming visit to Ireland].
london1967: (Default)
that the postman doesn't just deliver bills!


Eurovision

Feb. 19th, 2011 10:56 pm
london1967: (Eurovision)
After 14 years Italy will be back at the Eurovision Song Festival in May.

The singer has just been selected: Raphael Gualazzi, winner of the Sanremo Song Festival, in the Newcomers category.



Euroquiz!

May. 29th, 2010 07:03 pm
london1967: (Eurovision)
Only one hour before the Eurovision Song Contest final and a few minutes before a few neighbours/friends will join us for an evening of silly fun.

I have prepared a little Euro quiz for them.

If you'd like to play (but you have to promise that you won't Google the answers!), I may even mail a little prize to the winner. 

Click here for the quiz )
london1967: (Eurovision)
 another Eurovision CD!

london1967: (Default)
Our dearest friend David is staying with us this week-end. This evening we are all going to a tango-themed birthday party in Chelsea thrown by one of our neighbours for her 40th birthday!

But last night we had a mini party at home with Miranda, Lynne and Wimpy to watch BBC's "Your country needs you!" the programme that selects the act that will represent the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo at the end of May.

As David had celebrated his birthday earlier in the week, we thought we should celebrate it too
 

He got a (shop-bought - oh the shame! LOL!) fruit tart and got us singing him Happy Birthday (I can confirm that none of us has been selected for Oslo!)



We were all rather underwhelmed by the six contestants - not that we listened to them with much attention as we were often too busy chatting.



And as a party is not a party without being silly, we all got to try a white Afro wig on


london1967: (Eurovision)
I haven't left home for the whole week-end (apart from going to Lynne's last night - see below).
I just don't seem to be able to find the motivation to go anywhere; and often when I'm out I cannot wait to be back home.

Lynne organised a small Eurovision Song Contest party last night. Small in numbers (Martin and Utku, Gary and Luca plus us three) but huge for the amount of food! There was enough to feed at least 20 people!



Click here for the pictures )

Today lazy day at home. I managed to take some pictures of flowers in the garden, in between showers.
Lynne called for a cuppa and I tested the mini doughnut maker that Adrian's Mum bought us for Christmas.

Now it's time for my weekly shave, then a roast dinner and the last 4 episodes of Damages, series 2.

Escapism

May. 15th, 2009 12:20 pm
london1967: (Default)
We spent the last couple of nights watching the Eurovision semi-finals. They were good fun.
 
The first semi-final had, on the whole, the best songs; the second the best eye-candy! The Serbia line-up seemed to be out of a Eurowoof page and there were a number of other rather attractive men.
 
Our favourite entries are: Portugal, Estonia, Sweden, Iceland and Israel. Plus of course the UK (and I'm looking forward to France and Spain too tomorrow night).
 
This year's Eurovision mini-party will be hosted by Lynne. Martin and Utku, Gary and Luca will also be there. It should be fun!
 
*
 
This morning was one of those days when I noticed that the closer I was to the office, the slower I walked.
Yes I didn't feel coming in at all.
 
But now that I'm here it's really not too bad. It's a just a matter of not thinking how nicer it'd be not to be here.
 
Have a good week-end, you all!
london1967: (Default)
I didn't manage to watch Eurovision last night but I recorded it. Thank you to all of you for posting about Eurovision behind cuts, or not giving away that much.
 
When I got home last night Adrian was having a meeting with Martin and Miranda (two neighbours) to discuss the photographic competition that is going to be part of the residents' association 50th anniversary event in late July.
 
Then Neil popped round to return a digital camera he had borrowed and then stopped for a glass of wine and a chat.
 
Last but not least was the 'lovely Lynne' (as Ricardo  - lovely himself - always, and very fittingly, calls her) bearing gifts: an M&S Cherry Pie with custard. Yummy!
 
It was nice to catch up with all our friends and also to discuss with Lynne and Neil a recent event that left Adrian and I rather 'gob-smacked' (to use Adrian's words).
 
We are going to 'rise above it' but it was good to get it out in the open with friends. Lynne had a very good point: that we shouldn't expect everybody to behave like 'us'.
 
She's right. There's nowt so queer as folk!

Eurovision

May. 7th, 2009 10:30 pm
london1967: (Eurovision)
It's almost that time of the year again... I'm talking about (the) Eurovision (song Contest)!

The BBC website is up and running. You can watch all the entries, and each country is linked to the BBC News country profile, Wikipedia page, CIA  Wold Factbook and essential phrases.
 
Culture all around!

There's also a EuroHistory section where you can see all the results year by year, who voted for a particular country and it's all presented in an interactive and fun mode (I know, I am sad!)

Eurotrash

May. 25th, 2008 04:55 pm
london1967: (Eurovision)
The party was a hoot! 
It kicked off with Cosmopolitans in the kitchen before we all crammed (9 of us) into the sitting room to watch the show.
We missed most of Terry Wogan's sarcastic commentary and bit of songs too because of all the laughter! 
3 of our neighbours were Eurovision virgins: their lives will never be the same.



Adrian and the retro cheese and pineapple on sticks





A German fan (note the brown socks with sandals)


Welcome...

We were all disappointed that Russia won. The UK came last: no big surprise there (only Ireland and San Marino voted for us). 
With the large number of "new" countries in the Balkans and Eastern Europe, the Western countries never stand a chance.
Terry Wogan - the BBC commentator - has announced that he may quit after over 20 years because there's no point to the contest any longer as the voting is simply political.
Still I hope that the UK won't pull out of the contest. It is huge fun and it wouldn't simply be the same to watch it without taking part.
london1967: (Eurovision)

We had fun watching the first Eurovision semi-final this evening! 
There were not that many songs we liked but the outfits... wow! 
Certainly some good ideas for future Gay Prides, and some weird entries: poultry from Ireland (booed by the audience), Helena Bonham-Carter in a Tim Burton's wacky fairytale for Bosnia-Herzegovina, Amelie wearing a strawberry and cream campino for Belgium.

We are having a (small) Eurovision party with neighbours on Saturday night. Looking forward to an evening of high camp!

london1967: (eurowoof)

On Saturday we had a mini Eurovision party: us two plus Michael and William.
We didn't cook anything but stuffed ourselves with lovely M&S party food. And we had 3 bottles of bubbly, 2 bottles of sangria and one of white wine! Not bad, eh?
William got here at around 10 pm in time for the voting (he had spent the day in Paris with friends! Lucky fella!); Michael, Adrian and myself were almost in complete agreement regarding the best performances.
We voted for Hungary, Sweden, France, Ukraine and Latvia.
But I also liked the winner's entry (especially the English dance remix version available on the Serbian TV's website) and the Russian entry with the hilarious lyrics:

Oh! Don’t call me funny bunny
I’ll blow your money money
I’ll get you to my bad ass
Spinning for you
Oh! I’ll make it easy honey
I’ll take your money yummy
I’ve got my bitches
Standing up next to me 
.....
Gotta tease you nasty guy
So take it don’t be shy
Put your cherry on my cake
And taste my cherry pie 

It was a great evening of food, drink and laughter!!
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Sunday was a quiet and rainy day.
I went to SBN at The Hoist for a couple of hours... at one point, they turned up the volume and played more Eurovision! Scooch followed by "I am your drama queen tonight", and this was when  fisting and other porn videos were playing on the screens, and everyone was naked!

london1967: (Default)
We have just watched the semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest.
It was a grand festival of camp!! (all of a sudden, the UK entry doesn't look so camp any more)

It was great fun.
- The Finnish presenter looked like Ugly Betty's Wilhelmina Slater (Vanessa Williams)
- There's probably a shortage of feathers all over Europe, especially thanks to the Danish Drag Queen and the Austrian entry (4 dancers in feathers and sequins coming out of a giant feather AIDS red ribbon)
- lots of catchy tunes, camp routines and costume changes (3 each for Denmark and Norway) and Eurotrash
- the Belarussian singer (male) looks spookily like the late princess Diana!
- the BBC asked people having Eurovision parties to e-mail or text  ... and lots of male couples' names flashed on the screen! (no surprise there!). 


DQ (the Danish entry, singing Drama Queen). Photo: Alain Douit © Eurovision.tv)

We voted for 6 entries (as Adrian said, at £1.50 total it's cheaper than a drink):
Israel (funny and quirky), Denmark (of course!), Hungary (superb voice!!), Norway (catchy Spanish tune), Latvia (opera-like piece sung in Italian), the Netherlands (loved her voice).

Sadly only two of our favourites went through: Hungary and Latvia.

And not only that: some of entries tipped to win did not qualify!! The Swiss Vampires, the eco song from Andorra, Vertigo from Malta, ....
All the qualified singers are from Eastern Europe: I guess that it reflects the fact the there are so many countries there!

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